Job losses strain state call line
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By Daniel Barlow Vermont Press Bureau - Published: January 15, 2009
MONTPELIER – Vermonters filing for unemployment benefits have encountered a frustrating message when they call the Department of Labor: "All circuits are busy right now."
As the economy continues to slink downward, the Vermont Department of Labor has been swamped with new unemployment claims – and the state is now scrambling to get more workers in front of phones to help out residents who have lost their jobs.
Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden told lawmakers Wednesday that her department has seen more than a 100 percent increase in calls in the last two months. There were 7,300 weekly unemployment claims in November, she added, compared with 16,000 by the end of December.
This has meant that the state Labor Department often does not have enough staff to handle all the calls and Vermonters are getting busy signals or the "circuits are busy" message when they try to call.
And while the state has been adding staff to the call centers, Powden said Vermonters who need the services should keep on calling.
"Think of it as a radio contest," she said. "Just hit the redial button."
Vermont's unemployment rate stands at about 5.7 percent, although many expect that number to rise when the December 2008 figures are released later this month. The state's unemployment rate is still lower than the national figure, which stands at 7.2 percent for December as employers shed more than a half million jobs across the country.
The state's total workforce is about 326,000, according to state Labor Department officials.
And the state is bracing for further job losses as GE Healthcare in Burlington announced Wednesday that there would be further job cuts there. Many lawmakers also expect to hear soon if IBM in Essex Junction will continue to cut its workforce and a top Vermont economist predicted this week it would – to the tune of 400 jobs each year over the next five years.
"We are seeing layoffs in sectors that we have never seen before," Powden told lawmakers.
State Labor Department officials said the call volume is higher than anytime in recent memory – and they worry that if this trend continues, Vermont's unemployment trust fund will be bankrupt by this time next year.
Earlier estimates had the fund solvent for another 18 months, Powden said, but the increase in demands has reduced that timeline down to 12 months. Without a federal bailout of state's unemployment trust funds, Vermont will need to have a serious discussion about how to replenish it, she said.
Powden said she has been in contact with Vermont's congressional delegation about the problem.
"My message to Congress is that our trust fund isn't as pretty as it looks on paper," she said.
Sen. Vincent Illuzzi, R-Essex/Orleans, the chair of the Senate Economic Development Committee, floated the idea Wednesday of bonding for the additional money to replenish the fund if the federal government doesn't help out.
"We are looking at all the options and will bring them to you, senator," Powden said, adding the department expects to bring some recommendations to lawmakers in a matter of weeks.
Powden said a number of factors led to her department caught without enough staff to handle all the unemployment claims.
In addition to the expected increase in layoffs in December and January – mostly seasonal employees losing their jobs – the system was also hit with more calls after the federal government extended federal unemployment benefits by an additional 20 weeks.
If an unemployed Vermonter meets all the necessary requirements, they could collect up to 46 weeks of unemployment between state and federal benefits, she added. Right now, the average time spent collecting unemployment benefits is 14-16 weeks, she said.
In the last month, the department has reassigned 18 staff members from other divisions to handle new claims and hired and trained nine more workers. The offices have also extended their calling hours by an additional 90 minutes each day.
Contact Daniel Barlow at Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com.